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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25412098">It's all gangsta until somebody falls in love</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/moomoka/pseuds/moomoka'>moomoka</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Yakuza, College Student Yakuza Mama, Kuro's a normal dude who just goes with the flow, M/M, dont trip nobody dies, idk any of the relative's names so i made them up, romance but it's slow, such a slow burn that you don't even notice it's happening, when i say action/adventure i mean kinda sorta not really</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 07:14:43</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>15,728</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25412098</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/moomoka/pseuds/moomoka</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>College/Yakuza AU. Kuro's a college student. Mama's a yakuza college student. Shit happens.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Kiryuu Kurou/Mikejima Madara, Mikejima Madara/Kiryuu Kurou, idk i'll throw them in there as i go</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>17</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Kuro let his head drop against the desk with a thump. Math was never his strong suit. Not in middle school, not school, and certainly not in his college final exams. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Pick your head up, Kiryu, you're not a dog," Shu tsked, putting his notebook in his book bag. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kuro looked at his childhood friend, a defeated expression on his face. "Leave me alone, Itsuki, math kicks my ass."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The two had been friends since elementary school, Shu always being picked on for playing with dolls, and Kuro being there to kick the ass of whoever made him cry. Kuro's family had moved away in middle school, however, so Shu, who continued school with the same people, was left to fend for himself for three years. He didn't fare well, it made him bitter and mean, always ready to snap at people, a massive difference from the sniveling cry baby that hid behind Kuro at playtime. They remained friends throughout high school, </span>
  <em>
    <span>kind of</span>
  </em>
  <span>, and now they went to the same university majoring in fashion design. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Good grief, what do you intend to do after graduation with a degree in fashion if you can't take care of business?" </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Ask you to take care of business."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shu huffed. "Push anything unnecessary on me, and I'll let your business crash and burn. Your dreams will be crushed, your sister will be disappointed, and you'll have wasted your dead mother's inheritance because you didn't want to put in the effort to pass Accounting 105. The math isn't even that hard in this class. Now hurry up before the market runs out of croissants."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You're so aggressive… and don't just bring up my ma cause- hey at least wait for me?!" Shu looked back at him halfway out the door. "The croissants, Kiryuu. If I miss them because of you being slow, I'll sew your mouth shut in the middle of the night so you won't enjoy any meal for the rest of your days." Kuro caught up with him quickly. Not that Shu would really do that, but they shared an apartment, and he has chased him around with needles before.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The market they chose was unreasonably packed for the time of day, and there were only two workers at the register, both frantically trying to ring up their customers. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shu scrunched his nose up and shoved money into Kiryu's chest. "Go buy my croissants."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Haa? Just come in with me. The only reason we're here is for you, so if anything, I should be sending you to go buy yourself." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"There are multiple things wrong here. One, it's much too crowded for my comfort, I'd pass out immediately. Two, only two people are working the register, so they'll likely make a mistake with all their flailing and panicking, and I’ll get angry. And three, said workers are adorable, and I'd be unreasonably mean to them to hide my embarrassment."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kuro looked at the workers. "I think they'll be too busy to pay attention to you and your embarrassment. And they're normal people. You’ll be fine."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Non! I'm beautiful. How dare you? Of course they'd notice. And do I need to replace your useless eyes? Are they just for show? Look at the little blond one. He looks like a little bunny! And the fluffy-haired boy with heterochromia, he's got a dumb look on his face, but it's a pretty face none the less. They’re like living dolls Kiryu-"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Alright, alright, I'll get your croissants, calm your otome heart, please. Gosh."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I DON'T HAVE AN-"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was so loud and crowded inside Kuro couldn't hear Shu after he got a few meters in, which was honestly impressive. Making his way towards the freshly baked bread section, he silently pleaded to whatever deity was listening to have at least half a croissant sitting in the bin. He didn't want to hear Shu's mouth all the way back to the apartment. Somebody heard him, because inside the box lay a single fluffy, flaky croissant, a perfect crescent of steaming buttery goodness. At least that's how Shu describes it to him every time he eats one. Picking up the tongs, he carefully pinched the little moon of wheat to put it in a bag. Not too hard, it'd ruin the shape. Gently, as softly as it's pillowy insides. Unfortunately for Kuro, the deity that answered suddenly wasn't interested in bread anymore. Somebody rowdy crashed into him, sending the sad semicircle flying before the poor puffy pan plopped on the floor.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Huh? Sorry, man! I didn't see- hey ain't that Kuro? It is!" </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Recovering from the shock, the disbelief, and disappointment of the now ruined croissant, Kuro turned to see a group of his high school friends. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Now this group was quite different from Shu. They were the type of people who would have bullied him. They weren't delinquents, but they could've fooled anybody with their fashion choices and behavior. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Oh, hey. What's up?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Perfect timing! We're headed out to a ramen stall since finals are over, wanna join?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Ah, I gotta go, I got a friend waiting outside."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Eh? Don't be like that. He can come with us!" Kuro was positive Shu wouldn't go. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Not with these hoodlum looking creatures, off to feed off of bowls fat and grease! It's not healthy or beautiful! </span>
  </em>
  <span>He could hear him now.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I don't think I can…" They exited together, Shu waiting impatiently on the side when he spotted him. He went to take a step forward but recoiled upon seeing his friends. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"No croissants left, bud, I'm real sorry about that." Not the whole truth, but he didn't want to upset him more than he had to. All that mattered was that there was no croissant to be enjoyed by Itsuki Shu.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You Kuro's friend then? Hey dude! Why don't you hang with us to get some grub?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shu visibly cringed and glared at Kuro. "I’m going home." With that, he quickly and stiffly walked away. Kuro sighed. No croissant, and he left without him? He's sleeping outside for sure. He has his key, but it doesn't matter. Not when there'll be a violently grumpy man rolling around on their apartment floor. Lamenting his sorrows. Fully ready to pummel him with the oranges in their fruit bowl (an event that has happened before, which was too funny for Kuro not to laugh, making Shu angrier). The only welcome home he's getting is from the welcome mat. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Aw, what crawled up his ass and died? Oh well, let's go get food!" No point in saying no now when he'll just get home and sit outside the door. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>*** </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Their test ended in the evening, so by the time they were almost to the stall, it was pretty dark outside. The booth itself wasn't in a particularly conspicuous spot, and their friends had decided to take a shortcut, which ended up with them walking through suspicious-looking narrow alleyways. Kuro couldn't feel at ease, but his friends were having a jolly good time.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Ain't this route kinda sus to you guys?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Nah dude, it's totally fine! We come here all the time in the afternoon." </span>
  <em>
    <span>Yeah, ok. It's pitch black right now. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Continuing down the shifty area, the group jumped upon hearing a crash and a pained sob.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Shit, what was that?" a group member asked. Together, the group peered around the corner in the direction of the source, hearing a low rumbling voice. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Don't lie to me, old man. You've been good about getting your payments in on time, so we were gonna let this one slide. Then we find out you've been paying another group for protection services?" The guy took a drag of his cigarette. "What's up with that, huh?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There were six guys, all well built. They didn’t seem like average gang members, they were well dressed, and gave off a menacing presence just by standing tall and dignified. They surrounded the older man in question, who was currently shaking out of fear on the cold pavement. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Around the corner, Kuro and his buddies looked on with reactions varying between scared, slightly intrigued, and feeling the need to save the poor guy. Only Kuro felt the last one. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Shit man, are those guys yakuza?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Think so. This looks straight out of that gangster movie we watched."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Damn, sucks for the guy, but we should get the hell out of- eh, Kuro? Where are you going?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kuro had left their hiding spot and was now confronting the group of bad guys all by himself. Like a dumbass. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oi.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The six dudes and the old guy turned their attention to Kuro. A guy slightly shorter than Kuro with short scruffy gray hair looked him up and down. “What, are you lost? There’s nothing for you here, get out.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Step away from the old man.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Haa? Do you think you’re in any position to be giving orders?” The guy had a point, Kuro was oddly calm for someone outnumbered. He was well versed in martial arts, mainly karate, but it probably wouldn’t help much if any of these guys had guns. Not that he thought that far ahead.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well there’s six of you and six of us,” one of the buddies said, all of them appearing at Kuro’s side. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh, thank gosh. I thought they left and it was just gonna be me. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Kuro thought, smiling a bit. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Guess they’re cool guys after all. </span>
  </em>
  <span>“So what’s it gonna be, eh? The old man? Or these hands?” </span>
  <em>
    <span>Nevermind that was lame.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>A moment of silence passed as the two groups faced each other, waiting to see who would make the first move. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The old man decided it was his time, and the instant he scrambled to his feet, one of the six yakuza lunged for him, and everybody’s fists were flying.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kuro’s buddies were all engaged in one on one fights between five of the yakuza, but in a short time, the sixth had managed to throw the old man over his shoulder and run for it. Determined to help the old man and confident in his running ability, Kuro immediately went after them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>This yakuza guy was alarmingly fast for somebody who had a grown man thrashing around on his shoulder. He had to be considerably strong, too, seeing as he held the man with no problem with just one arm. Kuro was fast but was only just as fast as the other guy. He couldn’t close the distance between them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Just when Kuro was about to try to speed up somehow, the guy flipped the old man in the air so that he was almost carrying him bridal style, stuck his hand in his shirt, and yanked out a small thick manila envelope. Turning around, he tossed the old man high in the air in Kuro’s direction, making Kuro lunge forward to catch him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is all I needed, so I’ll be taking my leeeave~☆!” The yakuza guy took off terrifyingly fast, nothing weighing him down this time. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait please!” The old man tried getting up to go after him, but Kuro held him back. “Old man, is that money worth risking your life over?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s my grandson’s college tuition! I don’t care about my life, it’s already near its end, but his life hasn’t started yet! He needs that money at all cost-” he broke off in a fit of coughing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Old man, get somewhere safe, I’ll get your grandkid’s money back to you.” Before the old man could say anything, Kuro took off after the yakuza guy.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>In that short little interaction with Old Man, however, he completely lost track of Yakuza Guy. It felt kind of useless just running around aimlessly, but there was no way a big guy like that was just hiding somewhere. The alleys were practically empty save for trash cans and litter, and Yakuza Guy was roughly his height. Tall as fuck. Where’d this big ass man go?</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I said all that to Old Man, though. I can’t just go back to him empty-handed…</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Right when he thought that, he felt a blow to his side that would’ve caused him to fall and slide a foot or two had it not been for him being used to fighting. Instead, his instincts allowed him to stay on his feet and rotate to face his target. Good for him.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yakuza Guy stood in front of him, looking weirdly presentable for someone who just ran around with a person on his shoulder. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Where’s the money you took from Old Man?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you his relative or something? My men and I would have let you all go without a fight had you just mind your own when you were told.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nah, I don’t know the guy.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just being a good samaritan then?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yup.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, aren’t you pleasantly stupid?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yakuza Guy lunged at Kuro, and their battle began. Karate usually gets Kuro through these kinds of situations, but Yakuza Guy was familiar with it too. Frustratingly so. To make matters worse, Yakuza Guy apparently knew many different fighting styles, alternating them in a way that forced Kuro not to rely on instincts, but his brain. Kuro didn’t like fighting with his brain.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Despite this, the two were evenly matched, and at one point, Kuro was driving Yakuza Guy into a wall. However, when his back hit the wall, and Kuro geared up to deliver a devastating blow, Yakuza Guy kicked up a metal trash can lid, using it as a shield when Kuro launched his fist forward. A loud and painful </span>
  <em>
    <span>clang </span>
  </em>
  <span>bounced off the walls of the alley.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It took Kuro a moment to process what happened, but the realization was accompanied by a sharp stinging pain that caused him to falter and recoil a bit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That split second of hesitation allowed Yakuza Guy to turn the circular lid to its side and bash Kuro’s head with it, knocking him out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>***</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The first thing Kuro saw when he came to was white. He would’ve thought he was dead if he wasn’t hit with the smell of sterilization and obsessive cleaning.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He tried lifting himself off the hospital bed but was pushed down by big man hands. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kuro winced and closed his eyes. He didn’t need to see his face to know. “I know this looks bad, but I swear there’s a reasonable explanation for this.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>With a heavy sigh, Kiryu Eito put his head in his hands. “Kuro, I thought you stopped playing gangster in high school.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not playing gangster, Dad, a guy needed help, I tried to help, I got in a fight.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Your university could kick you out if they find out you’re fighting.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Like I said I’m not fighting. I got into a fight trying to help somebody..”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you think this is what your mother wanted for you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“...Can you listen to what I’m saying instead of waving my mother’s death around to guilt-trip me?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m just concerned about my son who has a troubling past.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kuro plopped his head on the pillow and closed his eyes. He and his dad got along well generally, but when it came to his well being, they talked in circles until they’d give up, not talk to each other for the remainder of the day, and act like nothing happened the next day. It didn’t happen often, but when it did it was annoying.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s hard enough putting you through school given how tight money’s been lately-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“For the last time, I’m not going around smacking random people. An old man was getting dogpiled, and his money got jacked. I was trying to help. I got caught up in a fight. I’m being as careful as possible.” </span>
  <em>
    <span>It’s not for the last time. We’ll be doing this in a couple months or so.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay.” </span>
  <em>
    <span>There it is. The “you’re wrong, but we’re getting nowhere so I guess we can stop” okay.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Kuro sighed and lifted his eyes to the ceiling again, wanting to discharge as soon as possible so they could skip to ‘act like nothing happened’ tomorrow. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“100% your fault,” Shu deadpanned, taking a bite of his walnut salad.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Eh?! Itsuki, the man was crumpled up on the ground, and he had to be at least 65. You’re trying to tell me you wouldn’t have helped?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve been crumpled up on the ground shaking surrounded by people bigger than me. People who took my money and beat me up. I didn’t get help, and he’s not special. He’s just old.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I helped you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not in middle school, and definitely not in high school.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, I walked right into that one.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sure did. And you couldn’t even properly enjoy our two-week break since you had to stay home recovering, you had to take an unpaid leave from work, so you didn’t earn any money, and you didn’t even get the old man’s money back. So instead of some random person getting mugged, a random person got mugged and you got beat up. Now eat your sandwich. It’s getting soggy, and it’ll bother me immensely if I have to watch you eat soggy bread.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The two threw away their trash and headed towards their first classes of the new semester.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m gonna go to the store after my class, do you want anything?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Croissants.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know why I ask anymore. I’ll see you later.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kuro entered the lecture hall, looking for a place to sit when a voice called out to him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Kiryu-san!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Morisawa, you’re in this class too?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah! Now there are two people I know in this class, thank gosh! I hate sitting in a class full of people I don’t know, but they all know each other. Sit by us! I’ll introduce you to my friend!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Morisawa Chiaki’s relationship with Kuro was kind of similar to Shu’s, but they met in high school. Chiaki was bullied like Shu, but unlike Shu, Chiaki kept his sunny disposition. He’s in college to study literature and wants to be a sci-fi novelist.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kuro slid into the seat next to Chiaki and set his things down while Chiaki got the attention of his friend, who was turned away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mikejima-san, this is Kiryu Kuro. Kiryu-san, this is Mikejima Madara.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nice to- oh.” “Ah.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The two looked at each other blankly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Chiaki’s friend was Yakuza Guy.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Two weeks ago</strong>
</p><p>
  <span>“... and after many years of the nomadic ceremony, in the year 1965, the Shinkai clan was able to establish an official temple, which would be hidden from the eyes of the public. Only members who were proven to be absolutely 100% faithful to the Yaobikuni were allowed to know the location of and access it… You’ve been oddly silent for awhi- you’re asleep?!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Rei picked up the closest book and tossed it at a sleeping Madara. The book landed squarely on his head, drawing out a little ‘oof’ sound from him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Rei-saaaaan~ What’s with the violence? You know I’m a pacifist,” Madara whined, rubbing the offending spot.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s crap, we both know you’re the fastest to get into fights with anybody over anything. And if I have to tutor you, you have to pay attention. Otherwise, it’s a waste of time for both of us. When did you stop paying attention?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mmm, around the achievements of my great grandmama.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Half an hour ago?! So you missed everything about the Yaobikuni and the Shinkai? Is there a point in trying to teach you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s what I wanna know, I’m in college now, and none of this stuff has to do with any of the classes I’m starting next semester.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We've been over this, your mother’s side feels it’s important for you to know about your and the Shinkai’s family history since you're the only heir to the family.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What about my sister?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re the only reliable heir to the family. Besides, I wouldn’t have to tutor you in college had you not skipped out on your lessons in your childhood.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Our childhood. You’re like a year older than me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Still your tutor.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Madara flopped backward onto the floor, putting his hands under his head. “A bad tutor. You’re smart and good at teaching, but whenever I skipped out on lessons, you joined me. You enabled my bad behavior.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You don’t get to complain about me being your tutor when all your previous ones ran away screaming. You were a monstrous child.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And you were demonic. Are demonic. Can we do something else now? Can we eat? Play tag? Anything but this?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, after this session, you have your omiai.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... What was that about the Yaobikuni?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They’re expecting a family from you eventually.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t want kids! I’m too irresponsible to have kids!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And you call yourself Mama.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Rei-saaaaan! I’m in my early twenties, not thirties! There’s no reason to be setting me up on blind dates. I don’t even have the capacity for marriage! What about my sister?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She’s more pathetic than you when it comes to relationships, and that’s saying something.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re right, but ouch. What about my cousins?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Your cousins who are all grade-schoolers? You’re the only adult, and the next person they’d consider is a ten-year-old.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think they’d like the omiai. It’d be like a little playdate! That’d be fun, right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then consider yours a little playdate, you big baby. Besides, you’re a descendant of the main family, they’re not. Now go get ready, or I’ll call Wanko-chan and he’ll throw things at you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Now in a suit, Madara stood with his mother, Mikejima Shoko, and Rei waiting for the other family to arrive.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Dearest mother of mine?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re not getting out of this,” Shoko said, expression unchanging.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s never too late to try and fix that hikikomori sister of miiiiine~.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Please, that girl is practically a zashiki warashi. I’d be convinced that I birthed one, but she doesn’t bring good fortune by staying in the house, and we’re luckier when she’s gone.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Rei shook his head. “You guys are mean to your relative.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A guard entered the room. “The Tsukinaga family has arrived.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Bring them in, Adonis.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, Ma’am.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Tsukinaga family looked like carbon copies of one another. The daughter, Ruka, was accompanied by her brother and mother, Leo and Io.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The two families exchanged pleasantries before it was time for Madara and Ruka to go to a separate room and engage in small talk. Leo accompanied them, adamant about not leaving his precious sister alone with some bub. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The three sat around a small circular table, Madara on one side, and the siblings on the other. They looked at each other silently for a moment before Ruka decided to say something.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... So Mikejima-san, what kinds of things do you like?” she asked shyly, looking down at her lap.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m flamingly homosexual and I don't think this will work out.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A thick blanket of silence covered the room for a moment before Ruka spoke up again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, thank gosh, you are too,” she sighed, covering her heart with her tiny hands.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait. What?! Ruka-chan? What do you mean ‘you too?’” Leo looked back and forth wildly between Ruka and Madara.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, you’re lesbian?!” Madara gave a huge sigh of relief. “Thank everything out there we don’t have to do this.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I already gotta beat the guys off her with a stick, now I gotta worry about girls stealing her away too?!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ruka gave a soft laugh. “Is that your only reservation, Nii-san?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uuu, I don’t wanna see Ruka married to anybody. You said you’d marry Onii-chan!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nii-san, I was five!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Jeez, welp at least I don’t have to worry about you going after my adorable sister, Mikejima-san!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mama is fine,” he said, waving his hand lazily.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mikejimama then!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Seeing no reason to be formal any longer, Madara did a big stretch before relaxing out of his proper seating position and into a cross-legged one, resting his head in his hand on the table. “So, are we done, then?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, not necessarily, the fact that our mothers set us up means they either don’t know we’re gay or don’t care and want us to marry regardless,” Ruka said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pretty sure mine knows and doesn’t care, they really want me to have kids, and my sister is useless, so supposedly I’m our family’s only hope.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don't talk about your sister like that... Oh! Oh!” Leo exclaimed, waving his hands around excitedly. “I got an idea then!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let’s hear it. I’m open to anything at this point.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, so you guys aren’t interested in each other, but our mothers want this to work, right? So what if you get married anyway and just date other people with a mutual understanding that you don’t like each other!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s great, Leo-san, but my problem remains: they want kids from me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, you don’t have to do anything icky with my Ruka. Besides, I won’t allow it. All we gotta do is go to a hospital after hours, and snatch a baby!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Eh?!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It's okay! I know a doctor who can get us in-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No no, getting in is not the issue, I’m not stealing somebody’s baby, there’re too many things wrong with that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But you’re yakuza! You can do whatever you want!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, I can shoot whoever I want. I will not steal a baby. Besides, we don’t know how the kid will look when they grow up, how are we supposed to explain why the kid doesn’t look like either of us? Kids aren’t stupid either. They’ll notice that they don’t look like anybody in their family, then wonder who their real parents are, and question why they’re with us instead of them, then it’ll be a whole mess.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hrmm, I guess that would be a problem… Oh! How about this! I’ll find somebody with brown hair, pay her a large sum of money, and we’ll have a baby in secret! Then I’ll pass the baby onto you! We explain to the kid super early on who it’s real parents are and why we gotta keep it a secret, you could just say 'oh they look so much like their uncle~' and everything will be fine and dandy!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“...Okaaaaay, but how will we fake a pregnancy for 9 to 10 months?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Silicon bodysuit and food poisoning?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Or,” Ruka interjected at the mention of food poisoning, “we could announce we’re having a baby three weeks into the supposed pregnancy and make up some excuse to go somewhere remote for the entire duration of the pregnancy and childbirth?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ooo, nice Ruka-chan! And when my lady gets preggers, we could all stay together, so if supplies are sent to the house, they’ll get used, and no one will suspect a thing!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And where would this large sum of money be coming from?” Madara asked, crossing his arms. “My family usually minds their own business when it comes to my spending habits, but once in a while, they might check to see if it’s getting low and add funds to it. In exchange for me not having a regular paycheck like other members cause I’m her son, my mom makes sure I always have sufficient funds.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Leave it to me! I’m a composer, so I get tons of money from jobs I take on, but I never use it so it’s just been sitting in my bank account.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, you compose? No, wait, off-topic. I’m fine with having a loveless marriage, but are you sure about this whole thing? The plan itself is so outlandish and ridiculous that it might work, but there are so many opportunities for it to go wrong.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Leo and Ruka looked at each other, then back at Madara. “What are the odds you two are gonna find somebody willing to do something so outlandish and ridiculous just to skirt familial obligations?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The man had a point. Madara scratched his head, dropped his hand back down to his lap, looked between the two of them, and shrugged. “Wanna get married?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Rei and Madara sat on a bench, eating in a park.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Rei sipped his tomato juice. “That went well, considering during your last omiai, you set the girl on fire.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Madara took a big bite of his onigiri. “I knew it was a bad idea to have a meeting next to the fireplace.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nobody expects to catch on fire during an omiai, Mikejima-kun.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They'll be more mindful next time.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Rei finished his juice and tossed the can in a nearby bin. “What about the girl changed your mind about everything in such a short amount of time? You were so against it going in, but were ready for a second date after a ten-minute meeting?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Turns out we’re both disappointments to our respective families so we decided to have a loveless marriage where we can freely cheat on each other and her brother’s gonna have a kid, give it to us, and we’ll pass it off as our own and raise it as the next family head so we don’t have to have icky hetero sex with each other.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sounds like a disaster waiting to happen.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It is, but it’ll be a fun party story after it goes horribly wrong.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My point about you being a monster child stands stronger than ever.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Excuse you. I’m a monster adult.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“‘You’re right, my apologies.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Madara finished his food and tossed the saran wrap in the same bin. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Unrelated, but y’know that old man who favors his grandson and neglects his granddaughter?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, but rather than neglect, doesn’t he pimp her and use the money to pay us for protection due to his shop not doing well?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Does he? Maybe she’s not that attractive, cause he’s been behind on his payments for awhile. We kept letting it slide, but at this rate, people are gonna start thinking the family’s gone soft. My mom doesn’t care about her image that much cause she can still kick ass, but my grandmama and great grandmama would be pretty pissed if people started thinking they could walk all over us. Despite them being frighteningly good fighters for their age.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“For a family of thoroughbred yakuza, they do ironically seem to care about family honor.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“In any case, I talked to an information broker recently and heard something regarding the old man.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fluffy hair megane?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, Tsugumi. Apparently, the old man went to another group for protection services once he was behind enough payments to protect him from us.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh? How fun, maybe I’ll grab like five people and go mess with him a bit, wanna come?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know about tonight, I’m usually pretty active at night, but I’ve already been awake for a while today. I probably won’t be much use should trouble arise. Adonis and Wanko-chan are free tonight, I think? They’ve been doing a lot of housework and clerical jobs lately. It’d be nice for them to get out, stretch their legs.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“True. Let’s see, I’ll take them, Tetora-san, Hiiro-san, and Kaoru-san.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think Kaoru has a date tonight?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll drag him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The fact that you came and dragged me from my date,” Kaoru grumbled. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was pretty late, almost pitch black outside when the group stopped in front of the old man’s house. The house doubled as a shop and home, the living space upstairs, the shop downstairs. It was located in an alley, though, which most likely contributed to the shop’s lack of business.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Break in or throw a brick in the window to draw him out?” Koga asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We should pick the option that won’t scare the kids,” Adonis offered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think either way it’d scare them, but they’re not little kids, they’re both in their last year of high school,” Kaoru looked around, “besides, I don’t see anything that could go through a window.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alrighty then, Hiiro-saaaaan! Tetora-saaaaan! Go get him, please and thank you!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ossu!” “Yessir!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hiiro and Tetora kicked down the door and rushed inside. Madara turned to the remaining three. “Who wants to be the scary interrogation guy when they come out?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kaoru looked at Adonis. “It’s been a while since you did it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not very good at being intimidating. I don’t think.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re scary enough without doing anything, I promise.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hmm… What about you, Oogami?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I got a pack of cigarettes I can smoke to look scary?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Madara nodded. “Everybody’s scared of the guy that smokes. He might have bad lungs, but he can still throw down.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t even smoke. I just carry the pack around to look more intimidating. That vampire bastard keeps making fun of me, calling me cute and shit, so I bought them to look more badass.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t think Sakuma-san calls you cute to make fun of you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They heard a crash from the second floor.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sounds like it’s almost time to start, tonight’s all yours, Koga-san. Light up that cancer stick~!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hell yeah, anybody got a lighter?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“...”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“...”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You don’t… don’t you have one? You carry cigarettes, why wouldn’t you have a lighter?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, like I said, I don’t smoke, I just carry them around.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kaoru rummaged his pockets. “I’ll let you borrow mine, but it might be more convincing if you bought your own lighter.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Plus even if you don’t smoke, I’ve heard arson is pretty cool, so you can carry a flask of sake and act like you’ll light someone up any second. That’s pretty intimidating.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mikejima-san, I don’t know who told you arson was cool, but I don’t think you should hang out with them anymore.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Eh? Why Adonis?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yakuza aren’t supposed to be flashy. We’d leave traces everywhere and get caught immediately.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah, good point. Oh! Here they come. Places everybody! Koga-san, you got that thing lit up yet?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, but how do you smoke it? Just inhale?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Dammit Wanko, it’s upside down, give it here, I’ll be scary intimidation guy tonight!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Switch spots, quick quick!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The old man came flying out the doorway and landed with a loud crash. He cried out in pain as Hiiro and Tetora joined the group, effectively surrounding the guy.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Koga leaned over to Kaoru and whispered in his ear, “Use a big bitch voice. Your normal voice is too velvety and calming.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Eh? Can’t I use that to my advantage, though? Like ‘the calm before the storm’ kind of feeling?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The only storm he’ll be feeling is in his pants.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ewww, ew ew ew, don’t use euphemisms when we’re talking about old people! And that wasn’t even a good one! It has to be clever enough to distract me from my disgust!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ahem!” Madara cleared his throat and flickered his eyes towards the man cowering in fear on the ground.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Getting the message, Kaoru stood cooly and tried to make his voice as deep and clear as possible. “Old man. It’s time to pay u-uegh-” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Madara had to turn away and compose himself so he wouldn’t bust out laughing at Kaoru’s voice crack. They were working, after all. He had to be professional. Luckily, the old man was too scared to notice.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Please! I just need more time to get more money, the shop hasn’t been doing well, and it’s our only source of income-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Don't lie to me, old man. You've been good about getting your payments in on time, so we were gonna let this one slide. Then we find out you've been paying another group for protection services?" Kaoru took a drag of his cigarette. "What's up with that, huh?" </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Why’s he making his voice so deep? Crap, I don’t think I can hold it in. Maybe I can pass it off as an evil laugh-</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oi.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Everyone’s attention turned towards the new voice. There stood a redhead about Madara’s height and build with an unwarranted amount of confidence for somebody witnessing six yakuza about to beat the crap out of somebody. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Koga was first to respond. “What, are you lost? There’s nothing for you here, get out.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Step away from the old man.” </span>
  <em>
    <span>Ooo, deep voice. Smooth too.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Haa? Do you think you’re in any position to be giving orders?” </span>
  <em>
    <span>Completely unjustified confidence? That’s kinda dumb, but it’s kinda hot.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well there’s six of you and six of us.” </span>
  <em>
    <span>Ah, he has friends, it is justified. Not as hot. But maybe it is, cause it means he’s sure of himself and his group? Unless he came out without a plan and they weren’t planning on interfering… Either way, kinda hot.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Though looking at this group now, he somehow has a slightly different air about him from the other five. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Madara observed the group in its entirety, playing a little game of spot the difference with himself. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Ah, I see. Redhead-san carries himself differently.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>The redhead was the only one in the group standing up straight and tall. He had a scary face, but it was probably his natural face, plus he was wearing a serious expression, making him naturally intimidating. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Kinda hot.</span>
  </em>
  <span> And if Madara had to describe the way he was dressed, he’d say it was trendy enough, but not gaudy. He almost had this glow to him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The others were hunched over and slouching. Madara could tell they were sneering to be intimidating, but it just made them look like guinea pigs. And they dressed like they just found out what patterns were and couldn’t wait to get their hands on every print in existence. And they didn’t glow. They looked dingy. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Madara didn’t know how long he spent proving to himself that the redhead was somehow special in comparison to his friends, but he snapped out of his thoughts when the old man scrambled to his feet attempting to escape, and everybody started fighting.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He made eye contact with Kaoru briefly as if to say </span>
  <em>
    <span>finish up here. I’ll handle the old man </span>
  </em>
  <span>with his eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He snatched up the old man with ease, tossed him over his shoulder, and sped away from the brawl. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I’ll find a secluded area, give this guy a shakedown, take the money he’s obviously hiding in his shirt, and be on my merry way!</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>That was his plan, but upon hearing footsteps, he glanced over his free shoulder to see Redhead following him. Pretty impressive considering Madara won meet after meet on the track team in high school.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>However, as curious as he was to see what would happen if he got caught, Madara was on the job, so he couldn’t play around. Technically he could, but he shouldn’t. Deciding they could make the old man suffer another time, he held the guy bridal style, swiped his money, and tossed him to Redhead as a farewell gift. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is all I needed, so I’ll be taking my leeeave~☆!” With that, he escaped into the shadows.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Except he didn’t. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Curious to see if the redhead would still come to fight him, Madara looked for a hiding spot.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>He got the old man, which was his original goal, but I wonder if he’d still come after me anyway? </span>
  </em>
  <span>he thought, propping himself up on a window sill. </span>
  <em>
    <span>He shouldn’t if he was prioritizing their safety above all else- oh, there he is, yay~</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Redhead was below him on the ground, looking around and lightly panting from running.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Madara fixed his hair and straightened his suit vest (had to be presentable) and hopped off the window, landing soundlessly behind Redhead and giving him a swift kick to his side.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Unlike most people, this guy didn’t topple over when Madara kicked him. He was able to stay balanced on both feet, either from dumb luck or knowing how to fight.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It turns out it was the latter. Once they started fighting, it became clear that this guy trained in karate. And despite Madara knowing six different martial arts plus street fighting, Redhead still backed him into the wall. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Luckily for Madara, he spotted a nearby metal trash can lid and used it to block his fist and knock him out. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Squatting next to the motionless body, Madara ran his hand through the guy’s hair, coming across a wet spot. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Aww, I shouldn’t have hit him that hard, now he’s bleeding. Poor idiot. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Wiping the blood onto the guy’s shirt, Madara rummaged through the guy’s clothes and found his phone. He called the emergency number, placed the phone on top of the body, and skipped away, satisfied with the way his plans derailed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh?! Mikejima-san!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Madara looked up from his seat in the lecture hall. “Chiaki-san! If I knew we had this class together I would’ve brought back the book I borrowed from you!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Chiaki was a good guy that made sure to do everything the right way but somehow managed to get himself into the worst possible situations, which is how he met Madara. Chiaki had saved their now mutual friend, Kanata, from drowning while on lifeguard duty. The meeting led to the two becoming friends, but Kanata’s family was strict on who Kanata could be exposed to and tried to, in simplest terms, get rid of Chiaki. Wanting to protect Chiaki, Kanata went to Madara since they were childhood friends and begged him to give Chiaki his family’s protection. Madara granted his request, but Madara’s family was supposed to serve Kanata’s, making their family relations complicated and strained. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>At least Madara gained a friend, though.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I have a present for you, Mikejima-san! They had a Super Sentai convention over the break that had all kinds of stuff from the earliest to newest of tokusatsu merch and exhibits!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Lemme guess, you got me a Kamen Rider figure cause they ride motorcycles?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I already got you a Kamen Rider figure. You have to finish the collection on your own!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not going to, but go on.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I present thee… whoosh!” Chiaki dramatically sat the figure on the table. “Galactic Cowboy Robobot!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ooo, he’s even in his special move stance! You would give Mama such a special gift?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course! You’re not my mother, though.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“C’mon, everyone calls me Mama.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nobody calls you that. I will not be the first.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Someday.” Madara turned to carefully place Galactic Cowboy Robobot in his bag, trying to find a position it wouldn’t get damaged by his other stuff. Chiaki called out to somebody, but he didn’t pay it any mind. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Maybe I’ll stop by the bookstore to get something for him as a thank you gift. Or make him Sentai cookies or something. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>A hand was placed on his back, shaking him lightly. “My friend is here, let me introduce you too.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“M’Kay,” he responded absentmindedly, still not looking.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mikejima-san, this is Kiryu Kuro. Kiryu-san, this is Mikejima Madara.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nice to- oh.” “Ah.”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>- Hikikomori is pretty much an introverted teen/adult to the max. They don't go outside. Like ever. They seek extreme isolation.<br/>- Zashiki warashi is a yokai known for staying inside people's houses. Supposedly, they bring good fortune while they're there, but if they leave, bad fortune comes instead. It's pretty interesting, here's a link if you wanna read a little more about it.<br/>http://yokai.com/zashikiwarashi/ </p><p>This chapter ended up being way longer than the first one. I think I have an easier time writing Madara cause I can have him say dumb shit and not be bothered cause he canonically does say dumb shit. With Kuro though I feel like I gotta be more careful about his mannerisms and speech patterns. I know this is fanfiction and I can do whatever I want, but I still wanna try to use as much of their original personalities as possible.</p><p>I edited this at the speed of light, so if you catch any mistakes, please embarrass me in the comments.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>After the lecture, which ended up being a waste of time to Kuro and Madara since neither of them could pay attention, Chiaki suggested the three of them get food.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’d love to, but I got a call from my job, so I gotta go take care of that first,” Madara said, looking at his phone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aw, that sucks. Next time. Guess it’s just you and me, Kiryu!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah, actually, I got errands to run. Itsuki wants bread, my sister needs some stuff, and I gotta visit an old guy.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Eating all by myself then? How lonely… Eat with me tomorrow, okay?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okie doke, bye-bye Chiaki-san!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Later, Morisawa.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The two parted from Chiaki, walking in the same direction. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They walked together in awkward silence for a while before Madara decided to break it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How’s your head?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh thank gosh,” Kuro huffed a sigh of relief, “it is you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You weren’t sure either? Honestly, when Chiaki introduced us, I thought you might be the guy from a couple weeks back, but you didn’t react as I expected, so I thought I had the wrong guy! I thought you’d be shocked or angry or something, but you kinda just stood there blankly.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I thought the same thing. I didn’t have any idea of how you’d react in general, but you just kept the conversation going so quick and smooth I thought you were somebody else. Especially cause it was dark at that time, and there were no street lights, so I couldn’t see your face. I kinda just based my assumption off your general shape and size, you’re pretty big for a Japanese dude.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You are too. We’re like the same height! How tall are you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“186 centimeters, but nobody in my family’s tall, so I don’t know what happened.” </span>
  <b>
    <em>*6’1”*</em>
  </b>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just barely taller than me then, I’m 185 centimeters. Both my parents are above average height, so I never questioned it. Plus, I heard if you do sports, you’ll grow taller.” </span>
  <b>
    <em>*almost 6’1”*</em>
  </b>
</p><p>
  <span>“Really? I never heard that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, it’s cause you gotta stretch before and after you exercise so you don’t hurt yourself. And when you stretch, well, you’re literally stretching yourself, kinda like taffy. So over time, you might notice yourself getting just a liiiiiittle bit longer!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You really do learn something new every day. So, where are we headed?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We? Are we going together? I did think it was odd for you to walk with me when the market is in the other direction, but I thought you just had a different one you wanted to go to?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The market stuff wasn’t a lie, but it’s not urgent either, I can do that stuff later. It’s the middle of the day, after all. But yeah, I’m coming with you. Thought you might be going to harass the old man again. Speaking of which, mind if we stop by an atm? Since I couldn’t get his money back I was just gonna give him what he lost.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“His debt is pretty deep, and I don’t think a college student has any business trying to pay off somebody else’s debt, especially if they don’t know that somebody. Besides, if that’s all you’re doing, you could just give the money to me. What I took from him wasn’t nearly enough to pay off all he owes. And I’m gonna take it from him anyway.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You could easily use the money for yourself and let whoever’s in charge think the guy hasn’t been making his payments.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’d be a simple task for the group to find out why the man hasn’t been making payments and where I’ve been getting extra spending money, which happens to be the exact amount of money he owes if I did. At best, I’d escape that situation with only a pinky finger gone.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They monitor your account?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The head of the group is my mother. She pays me directly and checks my account every so often to see if I need to be paid since I’m paid differently from regular members.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you sure it’s fine to be telling me all this?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Madara considered this for a brief moment. “It’s not like I was trying to keep it a secret. Besides, my mother is one of the biggest influencers in the underground world, and our group terrifyingly powerful. Even the police don’t wanna deal with her. Whether you do or don’t tell people, I’ll be fine, but you might not be.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fair enough.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The two stopped walking upon seeing an atm. “Still feel like paying me?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sure, I still wanna give the money directly to the old man, though.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why are you trying so hard? He’s not even a nice guy, he dotes on his grandson, but profits off selling his granddaughter to perverts for the night just cause he can’t handle his own business.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If he had a little boost, he won’t have to use her anymore.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“...You’re seriously glossing over him prostituting his granddaughter?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, that’s fucking disgusting, he’s fucking disgusting, but at this point, I’d be doing it for the granddaughter’s sake, not his.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Y’know his business has never been great? A guy I know looked into it, and not once in the history of that shop has it done well. The seedy location is probably a huge factor, but he probably doesn’t know how to handle his money. And I don’t know how much you heard before you interrupted that time, but he started paying another group for protection cause he knew we’d come after him. What makes even less sense is that the other group demanded more money than we did. Instead of paying his debt with us, he got involved with another group of criminals and put himself even more in debt. That makes zero sense. What makes you think a guy like that is gonna use the money you give him as you intended?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“...”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Madara took his silence as an invitation to continue. “Just so you know, I don’t know how other groups do it, but when it comes to buying protection or any kind of services, nobody’s forced to take the deal, and nobody’s punished for not taking the deal. Our group is aggressive and pushy when we offer, but we’re not violent. Meaning it’s all up to the client whether they want to risk doing business with yakuza. It’s like banks offering young, stupid people credit cards.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Taking advantage of vulnerable people?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Stupid vulnerable people, but yes. And the man was using his granddaughter since before we started doing business with him, so that part’s not on us. All you’re doing, or trying to do cause either way it won’t work, is protecting a bad person from bad people. It’s just a situation you shouldn’t get involved. Your poor little moral compass won’t be able to guide you, cause every outcome is bad. Besides, we’re not gonna kill him or anything.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re not?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, I’m not. There’s no profit. Other group members don’t have my patience, though, so he better be glad I’m coming and not somebody else.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wow, you’re shitty.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There’s no point in talking to a yakuza about ethics, Kuro-san, we know what’s right and what’s wrong, we just don’t care. We’re wired differently than regular people. It’s why we can shoot where normal people would hesitate. They see people, I see target practice.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kuro thought for a moment. “...Quick question, do you always carry a gun on you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, but why do you ask? That has nothing to do with anything I was talking about? Kuro-san, were you listening?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was, but half the stuff went over my head. But I got the gist of it, so I wanted to take back my earlier statement, you’re not a shitty person, you were just taught to do shitty things.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And how does me carrying a weapon prove anything?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Cause if you were half as heartless as you’re trying to make yourself seem right now, you would’ve shot me instead of running around and doing hand to hand combat. Actually, you could’ve shot me right when I appeared in front of you. You little kitten.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Eh~? I’m a kitten now?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, ‘cause you’re all soft.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe I just didn’t wanna waste ammo on small fry. Or I was in a good mood, so I wanted to play around a bit.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A playful kitten. On the larger side.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Like a big cat? A lion or something?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nope, you’re a fat tabby at best. Or maybe a calico, cause of your family name.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Madara looked away, pouting, making Kuro laugh a bit. “Alright, shall we go to Old Man’s house then?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Madara looked back at him, confused. “You’re not gonna get anything from the atm after we’ve been standing here for like fifteen minutes?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nah, you’re probably right about me not wanting to spend money needlessly, plus the guy is awful. We can see if there’s another way to help the girl.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The two started walking again. “You keep using the word ‘we’ like I care about other people’s issues.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You do, you’re just trying to sound mean again cause you didn’t like being called soft.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can you stop making correct assumptions about meeeee? It’s annoying. I’ll leave you here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Stop being so transparent then.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not transparent! People tell me all the time they don’t know what I’m thinking, or that I have a good poker face.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They’re overcomplicating things then, figuring you out is real simple. When you say exactly what you mean, you make eye contact with people and you don’t move all that much, ‘cause you’re a pretty straightforward guy. Every time you said the opposite of what you think, you look away somehow, and you make more body gestures. Like you’ll close your eyes and shrug to act like you don’t care, but when you thought I was trying to defend the old guy, you looked me dead in the face and got real still. It only took walking and talking with you to realize that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, so you’re more observant than the average person. Good for you, yay~! Want a head pat for being such a good boy? A gold star?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And now you’re being snarky cause I’m right. Do you want a head pat to make you feel better, Kitty-chan~?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you that eager to get your ass kicked again?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Please, you won’t use your gun, and you used dirty tricks to win last time. I can handle you just fine.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What, you can’t fight without the protection of rules and regulations?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re not strong enough to win even with those rules and regulations?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course I can, it’s just boring.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Try it then.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Just when Madara stopped abruptly and gave Kuro a smile contrasting the glare in his eyes, </span>
  <em>
    <span>he really does look like an angry kitten</span>
  </em>
  <span>, a luxury car pulled up beside them. The window rolled down, revealing the blonde with the deep voice Kuro recognized.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yo. Rei-kun told me you were gonna stop by the old man’s place,” </span>
  <em>
    <span>Is he sick? What happened to his voice? </span>
  </em>
  <span>“Need a ride?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kuro and Madara looked at each other, </span>
  <em>
    <span>ah, he’s back to his usual playful self,</span>
  </em>
  <span> and Madara shrugged. “Still feel like joining?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If you’ll have me, sure.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Kuro-san, this is one of our guys, Hakaze Kaoru. Kaoru-san, this is the idiot who was going to fight us all by himself before his friends showed up.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Introduce me properly or just let me do it. Nice to meet you, Hakaze, I’m Kiryu Kuro.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, Kiryu-kun. Please don’t mind our resident idiot sitting next to you. He’s always annoying.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Kaoru-san! I’m only annoying when I want to be.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You always wanna be annoying.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is true!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Anyway, there’s a suit back there for you if you wanna look more gangster and less civilian,” Kaoru said, looking at Madara in the mirror. “I brought a couple cause I didn’t know what you’d wanna wear.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Madara looked through the different suits hanging on the car roof handle. “Mama’s not picky. I’m fine with anything you bring me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did you just call yourself mama?” Kuro asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s my nickname! It comes from the last sound of my surname and the first sound of my other name. The ‘ma’ in Mikejima and ‘ma’ in Madara. You can call me Mama too, you know~!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kaoru looked at Kuro in the mirror. “You don’t have to call him that. Nobody calls him that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I wasn’t going to.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re both mean. Kuro-san, we’re like the same size, do you wanna wear a suit too? You can play ‘gangster for the day!’ It’ll be like when idols are police chief for the day, but you’re not an idol. And you’ll be a crime lord.” Kuro internally winced at ‘play gangster,’ which reminded him of all his unpleasant talks with his dad. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m good thanks. And I can’t just wear your suit. It’s tailored to fit you. We might be roughly the same size, but the suit won’t fit me the way it’s supposed to. You can’t just put on any old suit and expect to get away with it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh! You’re surprisingly passionate about suits, aren’t you?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m planning on going into the fashion industry after all- oi oi oi WHAT are you doing?!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kuro had been looking out the window the entire time but turned to look at Madara in time to see him putting on his suit vest.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m… putting on clothes?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Your shirt, Mikejima. Hakaze, you brought shirts along with the suits right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sure did.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thought so. Mikejima, why are you putting that vest over that shirt?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Cause that’s what you do with vests?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not talking about </span>
  <em>
    <span>how </span>
  </em>
  <span>you wear vests. Your shirt doesn’t match at all! Wear the one Hakaze brought for you, he put them together beforehand for a reason!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you! Somebody around here appreciates my hard work.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Madara looked at his shirt, then looked at the shirt on the hanger. “They’re almost the exact shade, why would I go through the trouble of changing?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, jeez. Forget being yakuza, the fact that you can’t dress yourself properly irritates me. First of all, being off slightly in shade could ruin the whole look. Second, the quality of your shirt has to match the quality of the rest of your outfit. You can’t be nice suit head to toe and throw in a random button up. You need to wear a </span>
  <em>
    <span>dress shirt</span>
  </em>
  <span> Mikejima.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Go off, king.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you, Hakaze.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Madara scratched his head. “I still don’t get the big deal, I get the thing about the shades, but they have the same general shape and design?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kuro sighed. </span>
  <em>
    <span>All the illegal money in the world and you still dress like a cheap bastard. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Scooting right next to Madara, he started unbuttoning his shirt. “Let me ask you something. You like leftovers, right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, they’re tasty.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let’s say somebody invites you over, and they’re gonna serve you a nice meal. They make you the nicest food they can. And then they serve it with a side of cold leftovers.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Finished unbuttoning his shirt, Kuro pushed it off his shoulders, his hands brushing against Madara’s skin. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Surprisingly soft, given his personality and looks. </span>
  </em>
  <span>“How would you feel?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hrmm… I like leftovers and special freshly cooked meals, but they have a different feel to them, so I’d rather it be one or the other. I wouldn’t complain about their food though, cause that’s rude.” Madara took his arms out of the sleeves.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Same kinda thing with suits. Button downs are your leftovers, and dress shirts are the special dinner. Both good in their own right, but should be kept separate.” Kuro’s eyes dropped to Madara’s chest. His gaze stayed there for a moment, sensing something was wrong.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Kuro-san?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mikejima, where are your nipples?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“...” Madara looked down at his chest. “They’re under the band-aids where they’re supposed to be?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why do you have band-aids over your nipples?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“C’mon, you know! When your shirt rubs against you too much, and its distracting cause nips are sensitive, what do you cover yours with?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“...Nothing.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hm?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“...I don’t think your issue is as common as you think it is.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“...Kaoru-kun-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nope, just you. Can we please stop talking about man nipples?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Madara fixed his gaze on the back of the seat in front of him, thoroughly embarrassed and refusing to look at anybody. “Uh, yeah, what were you saying before Kuro-san?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um, long story short wear the dress shirt Hakaze brought.” Kuro reached behind Madara to get said shirt when the car unfortunately (or fortunately depending on how you want to look at it) hit a giant speed bump at regular speed, causing the two to knock their heads together, and Kaoru to laugh at their pain.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Augh, you could at least try to hide... your laugh…” Kuro trailed off, curious about the sight below him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Madara was making a face, but Kuro couldn’t tell what kind of look it was. It wasn’t a bad expression, but it wasn’t good, but somehow it wasn’t neutral either? </span>
  <em>
    <span>Maybe I should take back what I said about him being easy to read…</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Maybe he couldn’t tell what kind of expression it was because their faces were too close? They were only a couple of inches away from each other. Ultimately it didn’t matter, Kuro abandoned reading this new expression in favor of taking note of how green his eyes were.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nobody’s eyes are just one shade of anything across the iris. Still, it’s not often that people just stare into each other’s eyes, so it’s not like anybody observes the depth and variety of the colors in the iris, unless it’s noticeable. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>So of course Kuro already knew Madara’s eyes were emerald, but now he could see all the pools of forest green, dark green-cyan, kelly green, and others that Itsuki could probably identify. All that flowed together to make the prettiest ocean.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Stop building sexual tension in my car. It’s gross. Put your damn shirt on Mikejima-kun.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The two blinked for a moment before separating at light speed. “There was no sexual tension Hakaze.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t lie to me. It was thicker than cheesecake. Stop it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Madara went to put on the remainder of his suit, this time with the correct suit. Leaning slightly towards Kuro, he whisper yelled loud enough for both to hear, “don’t mind him, he’s so far in the closet he needs mothballs to protect him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can hear you just fine, thanks,” Kaoru side-eyed him in the mirror.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know mothballs have to be kept in an airtight space, right? If you leave them in an open space like a closet, they release odors and fumes.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I thought it smelled like hot breath and Italian food...”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I had Italian, alright?! Why are you so convinced I’m gay?!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I guess that is pretty unfair. You could be bi-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not either Mikejima-kun!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Madara leaned over to Kuro again. “He says that, but he’s been making eyes at the next head of the Shinkai family.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I have not!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s delusional.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I heard a story about teens getting high off mothballs,” Kuro added helpfully.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Kiryu-kun, don’t encourage him!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Kaoru-san! You shouldn’t drive under the influence, wanna switch?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you wanna walk the rest of the way?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How disappointed Kanata-san would be if you left someone in need out to fend for themselves~.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Your relationship with him has been strained for ages. He won’t care as long as it’s you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Silence took over the car.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kuro looked at Madara quizically, as he had been expecting another quip, not nothing. It can be quite concerning when the thing that doesn’t shut up stops talking.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The expression he was currently wearing was neutral, but at the same time, it wasn’t. His face was a blank slate, but somehow Kuro could detect some kind of negative emotion… sadness? Regret? A hint of anger? Any combination of the three? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kaoru noticed his sudden lack of response too. “Mikejima-kun? I wasn’t being serious, but it was pretty mean regardless, so I’m sorry. You guys are childhood friends, after all. I’m sure you’ll be fine.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“...ahaha. I’m fine, Kaoru-san! You didn’t say anything wrong though, you don’t have to apologize.”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Delayed reaction, forced laugh, and a forced smile. The unholy trinity of ‘I’m okay but I’m not okay somebody please notice I’m not okay but don’t say anything about it.’ </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Seriously though, your breath does stink, chew some gum.”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>??? He’s back to normal that fast? Maybe it wasn’t that deep? Or it was, but he’s so used to feeling bad about it it doesn’t affect him for a long time anymore? </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Kuro sat back in his seat with a light exhale and looked back at Madara, who went back to happily chirping away at Kaoru. He did seem to go back to normal. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>What an exhausting guy, maybe I’ll just act like I’m asleep until we get there. Yup, that’s exactly what I’ll do. Sorry Hakaze, you’re on your own.</span>
  </em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>-Their canonical heights are 181 cm (about 6ft) and 180 cm (still about 6ft). But this is when they're 18-19, so I had them grow a bit since they're a bit older in this fic.</p><p>-The 'mike' part of Mikejima means calico or a cat with three colors of fur.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The three of them stood outside the old man’s shop, looking at a broken door that was poorly put back together, just barely hanging on. A paper sign reading ‘closed’ was taped to the door.</p><p>“Kinda weird to be closed in the middle of the day at the start of the week. Should we come back later, then?” Kuro asked, turning to the two.</p><p>“Nah, we’ll go in now,” Madara said, stepping forward. With a swift kick, the door was back to its poor useless state. Not that it was any help the way it was.</p><p>“I’m gonna sit in the car, scream if you get shot, I’ll come for you.”</p><p>“Thanks, Kaoru-san, I can feel the love.”</p><p>Kuro and Madara walked in, glancing around for any sign of life. The shop was empty, which made sense since it was closed, so they made their way upstairs where the family lived. At the top of the stairs, they heard an ugly sob and went towards the source of the noise.</p><p>In the center of the room, there lay the body of the old man in a dark red pool that could only be his blood. A girl and boy sat on either side of the body, grieving. His blood covered their legs.</p><p>Madara wrinkled his nose. <em> Gross. </em>“I wouldn’t recommend sitting in another person’s blood.” The boy and girl jumped at the sound of Madara’s voice. “Though I wouldn’t recommend sitting in your own either.”</p><p>The girl recoiled, and the boy, scared but angry, moved in front of her to shield her from view. “There’s nothing left! I promise we gave you everything, and you even took Ojii-san’s life! There’s nothing else we can give you!”</p><p><em> Ah, they’re the grand kiddies. </em>Madara cocked his head to the side. “We just got here, though? Hi, nice to meet you~!” He smiled and waved as if there weren’t a corpse draining itself on the floor just meters away.</p><p>Kuro stepped up to Madara’s side, giving him a quick glare from the corner of his eyes before shifting his gaze to the two grandkids. “What happened here?”</p><p>“Kuro-san, somebody killed the old man.” Kuro rubbed the bridge of his nose.</p><p>“I <em> know </em>that Mikejima, I’m asking them what events led to this.”</p><p>The grandson looked puzzled. “People in suits came by earlier demanding payments for… something I don’t know,” he sighed, anxious and confused, “obviously they were yakuza, but I had no idea Ojii-san was involved in anything bad. They took all the money we had, cash from the shop, money around the house, our bank cards, everything. Weren’t the people from earlier with you?”</p><p>“No, as I said, we just got here. The people you saw earlier must’ve been from the other group he was involved with.”</p><p>“There was <em> another </em> group?” Madara almost felt bad, seeing how distressed the kid was. Almost.</p><p>“M’kay, I’m just gonna give you a quick rundown of everything so you’re up to speed. Your grandpa came to my group seeking protection services for the quaking girl behind you.”</p><p>“But… why would-”</p><p>“Ah ah ah! Please hold all questions, comments, and concerns until the end of the presentation! You’re planning on going to college after you graduate, yes?” The boy nodded. “The revenue the shop generates isn’t much, and you’re poor otherwise?” Another nod. </p><p>“In a desperate attempt to get the money you needed, he prostituted that obviously underage girl,” Madara pointed to the girl, “to grown-ass men with loose morals, not that I have any right to call out somebody else for loose morals. Anyway, he ironically wanted to make sure she was safe while on the job, so he hired our guys. But hiring people requires money, and he ran out. Started paying late, eventually stopped paying altogether. Got scared, paid another group to protect him against us and, surprise surprise, didn’t have enough to keep paying them. I’m just speculating here, but the guys you saw earlier were most likely from that group, here to collect what he owed, got pissed that he didn’t have much, and killed him.”</p><p>The younger two sat there, the girl looking guilty, the boy a multitude of emotions, but dumbfounded at the forefront.</p><p>“The panel will now accept questions~ Hrmph!” Madara barely managed to swallow a yelp from the fingers pinching and twisting his skin. “Kuro-san, why?!”</p><p>“They lost their grandfather today. Could you be any more of an insensitive ass?” Madara looked up, thinking about it. “Don’t answer that.” </p><p>“Um,” they turned their attention back to the boy, “There’s a lot of things I don’t understand here, but I’ll go one at a time. Prostitution isn’t even legal here, so how?”</p><p>“Very true, but as you can see, your granddad isn’t a stickler when it comes to the following the law, ah, let me amend that, he <em> wasn’t </em> a stickler for- OW OW OW okay, I’ll stop, Kuro-san I said I’d stop!” Madara huffed and rubbed the sore spot on his skin. “In general though, Japan’s law itself only prohibits prostitution, strictly defined as vaginal intercourse with an unspecified person, which means that as long as there’s no dick in a vagina, it’s legal. It also means it’s legal if the people involved are ‘specified,’ or if they already know each other. Basically, your sister can get paid for buttsex with a stranger, and do it in the vagina in another meeting since they technically know each other.” Madara blocked an incoming straight punch. </p><p>“I’m answering his question!”</p><p>“Don’t be vulgar. You’re talking to kids, dammit.”</p><p>“We’re talking about prostitution in front of a dead body, it’s vulgar either way. And they’re both old enough to know how stuff works! They’re in their last year of high school!”</p><p>“Then just use the proper words. If they’re not old enough to drink, smoke, or buy a smartphone without their parents’ permission, don’t say vulgar things to them.”</p><p>The boy slowly turned towards his sister. “...You were doing all that this entire time?”</p><p>“...Nii-sama has to go to college, after all.”</p><p>“Not at the expense of family!”</p><p>“It wasn’t my choice. It was grandpa’s…” </p><p>“But why would he… to his granddaughter... “</p><p>The girl remained silent, though her face went from guilty and sorrowful to slight loathing and jealousy.</p><p>“I don’t know if you noticed growing up, but the old man loved you and didn’t give a crap about her.” Kuro dug his foot into Madara’s.</p><p>The four sat in silence, two grieving the loss of their family member, one grieving the loss of feeling in their right foot. </p><p>The girl looked up at Madara and Kuro. “Will you and whoever else is out there leave us alone now that Ojii-san’s dead?”</p><p>Madara side-eyed Kuro briefly and slowly inched away from him, fully prepared for an attack at his next response. “... No. We go to next of kin if something happens to the client before they’ve finished paying. I’m sure the other group will too.” <em> Which honestly makes me question why they even killed the guy if they were going to bother his family anyway. Maybe the guy that visited was the one with the worst attitude? </em></p><p>The girl put her head in her hands, letting out a shaky breath. The action, however, caused her to smear blood on her face, which made for a pretty horrid image.</p><p>The boy spoke up. “Isn’t there anything we can do?”</p><p>Madara scratched the back of his head. “Other than miraculously getting a lot of money in a short time? I’d say leaving the country and identity theft.”</p><p>The grandchildren deflated like wilting flowers in dry heat. There was not an ounce of hope in their bodies; they were positive their lives were over.</p><p>Madara rocked back and forth on his feet. It was always awkward watching scenes like this play out. To him, it felt similar to watching your family member get scolded right in front of you when you can’t leave the room and have to sit there and watch. It was embarrassing.  </p><p>Feeling a light tap on his shoulder, he turned to see Kuro close to him again. “Mikejima, can’t you do something for them?” he asked quietly.</p><p>“Not really? Even if I let them off, they still wouldn’t be safe from the other group, so either way, they’re kinda screwed.”</p><p>“Can’t you put them under your group’s protection? Your mom’s the leader, right? Doesn’t that make things easy?”</p><p>“I can move without my mother’s permission,” Madara muttered, “but there’s no gain for us. The thing the old man was paying for was protection. It wouldn’t make sense for us to do it for free all of a sudden just because he’s dead.” </p><p>“Can they work for you to pay off their debt or something?”</p><p>“You can’t just join the group randomly. It’s not like asking to be a housemaid. You have to…” he trailed off in thought, cocking his head to the side. An idea popped in his head.</p><p>“Hey, sobbing bloody children!” he called out to them, “Can either of you cook or clean?” The sobbing bloody children sniffled and looked at him. “...I clean fairly well? As far as cooking goes, I can only prepare tea,” the girl answered.</p><p>“That’s good enough! How about this, I have a sad excuse for a sister who is incapable of taking care of herself but shuts herself in her room all day and is probably rotting in a moldy corner. If you’d like, you can work for us by making sure her room is clean, and she eats something other than potato chips and calpicos, and the payment you would receive will go directly towards paying off your grandfather’s debt. Plus, anybody who works for us is automatically under our protection, so you don’t have to worry about dying. What do you say?”</p><p>“...We’d get guaranteed protection?”</p><p>“Well, nothing in life is guaranteed, so you might just die anyway, but you’d have us on your side.”</p><p>The girl looked down, then to her brother. “Nii-sama?”</p><p>The brother struggled internally for a bit. “...If I’m able to keep the shop running by myself, can I send the profits to you to shorten the time she needs to stay there?”</p><p>“Yup!”</p><p>“...Can we trust you?”</p><p>“I wouldn’t recommend it, but sure, if you want~☆!” </p><p>Kuro grabbed Madara’s face and dragged him out of the room and pushed him into the hallway. “Go stand outside.”</p><p>“Eeeeeh?! But I’m just doing my job! You’re not even apart of this. You go outside!” Kuro gave him a scathing glare. “Okay fine, but I’m not buying you dinner!” Madara yelled, walking down the stairs.</p><p>“You weren’t gonna buy me dinner in the first place!”</p><p>“You don’t know that!” he yelled from the bottom, “And now you’ll never know! We might’ve gone to McDonald’s if you didn’t have such an attitude young man, I didn’t raise you to act like this towards your mama!”</p><p>“You’re not my mama!”</p><p>“Who told you you were adopted?!”</p><p>Kuro heard the sound of shoes walking over the broken pieces of the door and rolled his eyes.</p><p>Outside, Madara opened the car door and plopped down inside, cheeks puffed, and arms crossed.</p><p>“Did you kill him?” Kaoru asked, not looking up from his phone.</p><p>“No, he’s gonna finish up in a moment. But we’re not taking him to McDonald’s!”</p><p>“Did we have plans to go to McDonald’s?”</p><p>“We could have!”</p><p>“Yeah yeah, listen, if you’re gonna throw a tantrum back there, change back into your regular clothes. Somebody took the time to make sure that suit was nice and crisp for you, you know?”</p><p>“Oh, you’re right, can’t waste anyone’s hard work~” Madara started changing back. </p><p>“How’d it go?”</p><p>“Well, the old man was dead and soaking in his blood.”</p><p>“Sexy.”</p><p>“And his grandkiddies were beside him mourning the loss of their asshole grandfather. Then we stepped in, talked a bit, turns out the guys who got paid to protect him against us are  unsurprisingly the ones who killed him.”</p><p>“Damn, tough.”</p><p>“And ironic. So they sat there all sad and miserable, and Kuro-san wanted me to do something for them.”</p><p>“Did you?”</p><p>“Yeah.”</p><p>“Whipped.”</p><p>“We just met.”</p><p>“You think he’s hot.”</p><p>“His eyes are the color of piss.”</p><p>“And you probably have a piss kink I don’t know about.”</p><p>“I wouldn’t know about it either, but I wouldn’t be surprised if I found out I did.”</p><p>“What’d you do for them, then?”</p><p>“Offered the girl a job to take care of my pathetic sister.”</p><p>“I think this every time, but your family is mean to your sister. For no reason.”</p><p>“There’s plenty of reason. You only think that cause you haven’t met her and you’re biased in favor of women. That girl is slime.”</p><p>“Harsh. So what are we waiting for?”</p><p>“Kuro-san had something to say to them, so he kicked me out.”</p><p>“Whipped.” Madara kicked the back of Kaoru’s seat. “Hey hey hey! Don’t put your dirty shoes on my car seats. This car was expensive! And I just had it cleaned!”</p><p>A knock on the window shifted their attention. Kaoru unlocked the doors to let Kuro in.</p><p>“Thought you guys would’ve left,” Kuro slid into the seat, shutting the door, “You changed back into your regular clothes?”</p><p>“Yup, this visit was all I had to do work-wise, and I don’t especially like wearing suits, so I changed back. So what’d you tell them?”</p><p>“Not much. Just reassured them that they’d be okay since you were doing such a shit job at it. I got their contact info for you, too. What’s you’re number? I’ll send it to you.” </p><p>Kaoru started driving with no specific destination in mind. “Good for you, Mikejima-kun, you scored his number despite being annoying the entire time.” Madara kicked his seat again. “Kiryu-kun, Mikejima says you look like piss.”</p><p>Madara whipped his body to face Kuro. “I did not say that. I said your <em> eyes </em> look like piss. Not you entirely,” he smiled, folding his hands in his lap.</p><p>“And I take back everything I said earlier about your eyes being pretty,” Kuro side-eyed him.</p><p>Madara cocked his head to the side and Kaoru looked at Kuro in the mirror, instantly making Kuro realize his mistake.</p><p>A faint blush and cheeky grin spread over Madara’s face. “Hoho~? You think I’m pretty?”</p><p>“Didn’t say that. I said your <em> eyes </em> are pretty. The rest of you sucks.”</p><p>“Too late, the damage has been done.” Madara giggled. “Don’t be so shy! Kuro-san!” He launched himself onto Kuro like a big puppy. </p><p>“Oi, Mikejima! Don’t hug me all of a sudden!”</p><p>“Hey! Stop fluffy play fighting back there! I don’t wanna see two dudes hugging on my car seats!”</p><p>“Oh heaven forbid we ruin your leather interior with manly cuddles. I’ll be extra careful so that we don’t get hugging juices all over your car, Kaoru-san!”</p><p>“Hugging jui-” Kaoru gagged and slammed the brakes, making the car screech to a halt. “Exit my car.”</p><p>“Eeeeeh? You know hugging juices aren’t real riiiiight? I was kidding! Kaoru-saaaan!” Madara let go of Kuro and lunged for Kaoru from the back seat.</p><p>“Ack, Mikejima-kun, that’s dangerous! The car's not in park! I’m just stepping on the break!”</p><p>“Ha ha haaa!!!” Madara laughed triumphantly, “Accept my love, or we all die together!”</p><p>“We’re not moving, though?! And don’t laugh in my hear, you’re so freaking loud!”</p><p>Kuro grabbed Madara’s waist and pulled him off Kaoru, setting him down on the seat beside him. It reminded him of picking a cat up off of a couch.</p><p>“I’ve wondered this for a while now,” the two turned to Kuro, “but are you guys always this… silly? Are yakuza less serious than people think or just you two?”</p><p>Kaoru, not wanting to take any chances with Madara’s unpredictability, put the car in park. “A mix of both, I think? Most people have it in their heads that the only thing yakuza think about is ‘kill kill kill,’ but we’re regular people too. A lot of yakuza are typical businessmen. Well, not typical, but you know.”</p><p>Madara nodded his head in agreement. “Well put, Kaoru-san! It also might be because of our age. Our esteemed seniors behave in a more dignified manner, but we’re dumb twenty-something-year-olds, and we act like it.”</p><p>“No no no, Mikejima-kun acts dumb all by himself and I get dragged into it cause I’m the nearest object. He’s like a big hurricane of stupidity. You get dragged into his pace at a hundred miles per hour, even if it’s the last thing you want.”</p><p>“You enjoy my company.”</p><p>“Sure. But I can only take you in small doses, like now. I’ve reached my daily limit. Please step out of my car.”</p><p>Madara laughed but obeyed and left the vehicle, Kuro following him.</p><p>Kaoru poked his head out of the window. “Kiryu-kun, do you want a ride home? I was only kicking out Mikejima-kun.”</p><p>“Nah, I’m good, thanks. I’ve already burdened you enough.”</p><p>“You sure? It’s not a long walk back to the university, but you are with an overgrown child, so it might feel like forever.”</p><p>“Positive. Thanks anyway.”</p><p>“If you say so, see you later!” Kaoru rolled off, Kuro and Madara waving at the car’s disappearing shape.</p><p>“Well, I’m glad that after one day of knowing me, you feel comfortable enough to talk badly about me while I’m right next to you.”</p><p>Kuro snorted. “I usually keep insults reserved until like a week or so of knowing the person, but you’ve got a knack for provoking people.”</p><p>“To be fair, you did keep the insults to a minimum, though you were a bit violent.”</p><p>“That was cause you weren’t reading the room. The kids' dead relative was right beside them, has anyone ever told you you’re pretty insensitive?”</p><p>“You wouldn’t be surprised to hear that I get told that almost daily.”</p><p>“You’re right. I’m not surprised. In the end, I’m glad everything worked out for the kids. Well, not everything, their grandfather’s dead, but he was a pretty bad guy, so maybe everything did work out?”</p><p>“Mmm~ I wouldn’t say everything worked out, though? It’d be fine if we protected the kids against some random street thugs, but we’re dealing with another yakuza group. The old man was our client, but he was also theirs. We’re getting in the way of each other’s business. Depending on the group, this can either be settled with friendly negotiations or end in a gang war, though the gang war is a worst-case scenario and highly unlikely.” </p><p>The two started heading back towards the university when Madara thought of something. “Kuro-san, are you okay?”</p><p>“Hm? Yeah, why do you ask?”</p><p>“It’s just that days like completely normal to me given my background, but you’re a regular civilian. You saw a dead body, and if you reacted, I didn’t notice.”</p><p>“Nah, I reacted, it might be hard to tell sometimes cause my face has two settings: scary or tired. Itsuki tells me I have a resting bitch face, even though he of all people has no right to be saying that to anybody.”</p><p>“Itsuki?”</p><p>“My childhood friend and current roommate.”</p><p>“Wow, you can live with him? They say you shouldn’t live with your closest friends cause you’ll end up hating each other.”</p><p>“We’re only living together as a last resort. He wanted to get the hell away from his family, and I needed to live closer to campus. Plus we’ve hated each other for a while now, so we didn’t have to worry about ruining anything.”</p><p>“You say that, but I bet you’re the kind of close friends that argue all the time but still love each other~. But anyway, we got off track, dead body reaction?”</p><p>“Oh right. I don’t know why, might be ‘cause I didn’t know the guy, but it didn’t feel too bad? I was pretty shocked cause I didn’t expect to see a dead body, but I didn’t know the guy personally, and the body wasn’t mutilated. It was just pale and sitting in blood. I still felt something, ‘cause that’s basic human compassion, to feel something when you see other dead humans. But it wasn’t a crushing feeling or anything. My heart just did a little squeeze, and that was it.”</p><p>“Human compassion, huh?” Madara looked at the sky in thought. “When’s the last time I felt that?”</p><p>“You’re doing it again.”</p><p>“What?”</p><p>“Making yourself seem worse than you are.”</p><p>“We literally met today, how do you know what I’m like?”</p><p>“I only know what you’ve shown me, which is surprisingly a lot for the what, twelve hours we’ve been together? I think you’re mixing up lack of compassion with desensitization, though those generally go hand and hand. Yeah, you’re probably used to seeing dead bodies in various forms, so it doesn’t affect you anymore. But that’s no different from a mortician, or a forensic pathologist, or a medical examiner, who sees that kind of stuff daily. They still have normal people feelings, and so do you. You told me all kinds of trouble you could get into by taking in those kids earlier, yet you did it knowing you’re risking way more than gaining. I stand by what I said earlier. You’re a big softie.”</p><p>“...”</p><p>“Mikejima?”</p><p>“Aah~! I’m so hungry! I just realized we never ate today,” Madara said, turned away from Kuro so he wouldn’t see his expression. </p><p>Kuro rolled his eyes at the obvious subject change. “Wanna go eat then? There’s a food stall my friends like to go to somewhat near the university.”</p><p>“Oh? How good’s the food?”</p><p>“I don’t know, we ran into some yakuza and got sent to the hospital before I got to try it. Heard it’s great, though.”</p><p>“<em> That’s </em>why you guys were in the area? It was super late at night, why were you eating so late? Bunch of delinquents~.”</p><p>“I don’t wanna hear that from you. And my final exams finished late, so naturally, we’d eat that late. Speaking of which, we have a class together, but what’s your major? Morisawa’s a creative writing major, and I’m majoring in design, but that class is just general ed.”</p><p>“Me? I’m majoring in business law.”</p><p>“For yakuza stuff?”</p><p>“Yup.”</p><p>“Does anything in your life not revolve around organized crime?”</p><p>“Not really, no.”</p><p>“And you’re fine with that?”</p><p>Madara shrugged. “It’s whatever I guess? I don’t know what else I would’ve done with my life.” <em> Or if I would’ve even been allowed to pursue anything else. Probably not… Not that I would’ve cared, I would’ve done whatever I wanted, but they’d never let me hear the end of it. </em></p><p>Kuro hummed at his response. “Well, now that you brought it up, I’m hungry too. Let’s continue this conversation over food.”</p><p>“Alright! Let’s race to our destination! Ahaha!!!”</p><p>“Wait- Mikejima! Don’t take off all of a sudden! You don’t even know where we’re going! I’m not running after you, you know?!”</p><p>***</p><p>“Let’s not make me chasing after you a habit, okay? I’ve had to do it twice now.” Kuro took a swig of beer. “You’re a big ass guy, why are you so freaking fast?”</p><p>Madara laughed heartily, which irritated Kuro further since he was all burned out, yet the former was somehow still brimming with energy.</p><p>“I’m trained for it! My family started training me at a young age so I could be ready in any situation! Plus, I did track in high school!”</p><p>“Is that why you have way too much stamina?”</p><p>“Actually, I’ve been told even in my infancy and toddler years, I had way more energy than I should’ve. I always thought that was just my parents complaining about me as new parents, but family friends who were used to watching kids my age said the same thing, so maybe I was that bad.”</p><p>“Oh, so you’re just special?”</p><p>Madara’s eye twitched a little at the word ‘special,’ hoping he wasn’t showing any obvious discomfort. “Not really, it’s not like I had an otherworldly amount of energy; it’s more like I was that one kid at naptime that never went to sleep.”</p><p>Fortunately (or unfortunately?), Kuro somehow picked up on his discomfort and decided to change the subject.</p><p>“So is everybody in your family a gangster?” he asked.</p><p>“Everyone on my mom’s side, yeah. My dad’s the chief of police.”</p><p>“Wait, seriously? Is he like a dirty cop who works with your mom? Is that why you said earlier that the police don’t bother your group?”</p><p>“You’d think, but no. He doesn’t get into her business, and she doesn’t get into his. He’s pretty strict about keeping his work life separate from his personal life, so at work, he’s Chief of Police Mikejima, but at home, he’s just Sojun, father of two, husband of a crazy lady.”</p><p>“How did they even end up together?”</p><p>“I don’t know, I never asked.” They both took a sip of their drinks.</p><p>“Father of two means you got a sibling?”</p><p>“I wish I could say no, I really do.”</p><p>“What’s with that? Older or younger?”</p><p>“A younger sister.”</p><p>“Eeeh? How can you say that? Little sisters make the world go round! Wait a minute.” Kuro patted his pockets in search of his phone. “Lemme show you my little sister. I got plenty of pictures.”</p><p>“Aw man, I didn’t know I was hanging with a siscon.”</p><p>“<em> Oi. </em> I am not a siscon. My sister just happens to be adorable, and I love and cherish her with all my heart,” he placed a hand on Madara’s shoulder, “Sorry, but even without looking I can already tell my sister is way cuter than yours.” <em>That's why you're a siscon... </em></p><p>“Hate to break it to you, but it’s not that hard to be. I’m sure your sister is as cute as you say, but saying any girl is better than my sister is like comparing perfume to skunk piss on a gym sock. It’s not an accomplishment, it’s expected.”</p><p>“Wow, that is unnecessarily cruel, even if for sibling rivalry.”</p><p>“There’s no rivalry. We just don’t get each other. Like at all. Complete opposites.”</p><p>“Two sides to the same coin?”</p><p>“Two sides of different coins that don’t look remotely similar. From different countries.”</p><p>“Okay, I get having a different personality, but she’s your biological sister, right? She’s gotta have something going for her in the looks department, doesn’t she share any features with you at all? Same mouth shape? Eye color? Something?”</p><p>“You gotta stop implying I’m pretty, I’ll kiss you. And I wouldn’t know, I haven’t seen her since I graduated high school.”</p><p>“A couple of <em> years </em>ago, Mikejima? You don’t visit her?”</p><p>“Why would I visit? We live together.”</p><p>“That makes it worse, do you make it a point not to look at her?”</p><p>“No, she’s an extremely reclusive high schooler who hasn’t physically left the house since we moved there. We’ve been in that house since I started middle school. Once she entered middle school, she stopped leaving her room altogether.”</p><p>“How is it possible that she’s been living her life in one room all this time?”</p><p>“Well, my dad’s the highest-ranking police officer, and my mom’s a top dog in underground society, we’re pretty well off to say in the least. She has a huge master bedroom with a master bathroom, and a large walk-in closet I’m sure she doesn’t use for clothes cause why would she need to change, she never goes out, but you get the picture. She’s got space. And in today’s society, it’s possible to live your life inside without ever having to step out. You can do all your shopping online and have things delivered to your house, you can have the doctor come over for medical appointments, you can buy work out equipment to stay in shape, online schooling at all levels, and work from home. Plus, we have house servants.”</p><p>“When you put it that way, I guess it is pretty doable… Still, don’t you think there’s a reason she is the way she is? She hasn’t always been that way, has she?”</p><p>“Nope, I know exactly why she is the way she is, and it makes me hate that selfish little grease ball even more-”</p><p>“Gentleman, enjoy your food!” The two looked down in front of them to see the ramen guy place steaming bowls of food in front of them.</p><p>“...Mikeji-”</p><p>“ITADAKIMAAAAASU!!!” </p><p>Both Kuro and the ramen guy jumped, startled from Madara’s booming voice. Kitchen tools clattered against the floor from the ramen guy dropping them, and Kuro hissed in pain from hitting his knee against the counter.</p><p>“The hell, Mikejima?! Don’t just yell all of a sudden right next to my ear!” Kuro protested, massaging the abused kneecap. </p><p>“Don’t be like that, Kuro-san! We must give thanks for the food! It’s been through a lot, you know~. Everything here was a hardworking plant or animal that lived its best life so that you could enjoy it! And the farmworkers too! And butchers! And store owners and employee- mmph!” </p><p>Kuro grabbed Madara’s mouth in one hand. “Alright, alright! I get it, shut up and eat your food.”</p><p>Madara gave a bright smile and started shoveling food into his mouth, making Kuro roll his eyes and start eating his.</p><p>Once Kuro’s attention wasn’t on him, Madara let his jolly expression drop.</p><p>
  <em> Haah, that was dangerous~! It was only the beginning, but if Mr. Ramen Guy hadn’t interrupted, I don’t know how long I would’ve ranted. How unlike me, talking about my occupation isn’t a big deal, but I don’t talk about my personal feelings like, ever? Let alone go in-depth… </em>
</p><p>Madara glanced at the fellow eating next to him out of the corner of his eyes.</p><p>
  <em> Maybe I forgot halfway through that I was talking to somebody? No, that doesn’t make sense; he was actively apart of the conversation. Is he easy to talk to? Is he a good listener, and I forgot what it's like for someone to care about what I’m feeling? </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Wait, no, that’s a poor inference. This is just an everyday conversation to Kuro-san, a means to get to know me better. We just met today, after all. Bad Mama~, stop assuming people might care just cause you want them to care. </em>
</p><p>Madara stopped inhaling his food to wash it down with water, pausing with the glass at his lips.</p><p>
  <em> But why would I want someone I just met to care? Have I been pathetically craving attention like a five-year-old this whole time? Getting excited when even basic curiosity directs itself towards me? </em>
</p><p>He inwardly rolled his eyes at himself.</p><p>
  <em> Mikejima Madara, you poor, sad bitch. </em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>That stuff about prostitution in Japan is true, btw, it was interesting to read about</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Grammarly saves lives.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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